How To Understand To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22)

To obey is better than sacrifice(1 Samuel 15:22)  is one of the most important lessons from the prophets of the Old Testament. King Saul is a sad example of those who tried to disobey the Lord and ignore God’s command. In 1 Samuel, the prophet Samuel declared to him the Words from the Lord 

1 Sam. 15:22

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

    as much as in obeying the Lord?

To obey is better than sacrifice,

    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

Why did the prophet Samuel address these words to Saul? And what can we learn today from King Saul’s failure to obey God’s commands?

What did Samuel mean by “To obey Is better than sacrifice” in  1 Samuel 15:22?

To have a good understanding of Samuel’s words to Saul, we need to recall the background of this chapter. 

In 1 Samuel, apparently, Saul didn’t have enough wisdom to make wise decisions. In 1 Samuel 15:1-3, God gave Saul a direct command. Dated to more than 400 years earlier,  the Amalekites attacked Israel when God’s people were weak(Ex. 17:14-16, Deut 25:17-19). And God did not forget this attack, so Saul was told to attack them and completely destroy all that belonged to them. King Saul didn’t do exactly what God told him to. He kept wicked King Agag alive as a prisoner and the best of the sheep and cattle from the enemy’s camp.

When Samuel confronted Saul, he denied that he disobeyed God. When Saul tried to blame others, Samuel directly said these words to Saul

1 Sam. 15:22

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

    as much as in obeying the Lord?

To obey is better than sacrifice,

    and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

What can we learn from King Saul’s failure to obey God’s commands?

Of course, the most important lesson is to obey God’s Words. Obedience is more taught to children or women in church. Actually, it is a lesson or a command from God to anyone in Christ. As God’s children, we should practice obedience anytime and with a joyful heart.

And how can we know what to obey? All of God’s words and commands are already written in the Bible. So people cannot know God’s heart and will without a great understanding and familiarity with the Bible. 

In conclusion, obedience should be fast and complete. We cannot obey to part of God’s teaching. We should take them fully and immediately. Return to God in prayer and act exactly according to His commands. 

Hymn

Lyrics

To obey is better than sacrifice

I don’t need your money

I want your life

And I hear you say that I’m coming back soon

But you act like I’ll never return

Well you speak of grace and my love so sweet

How you thrive on milk, but reject My meat

And I can’t help weeping of how it will be

If you keep on ignoring My words

Well you pray to prosper and succeed

But your flesh is something I just can’t feed

To obey is better than sacrifice

I want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights

Cause if you can’t come to Me every day

Then don’t bother coming at all

La, la, la

To obey is better than sacrifice

I want hearts of fire

Not your prayers of ice

And I’m coming quickly

To give back to you

According to what you have done

According to what you have done